The Identity of the Bat
by Rosie2009
Summary: A sequel to "A Big Mess." Black Canary x Batman or Dinah Lance x Bruce Wayne. DC Comics doesn't belong to me, unfortunately. Read and review!


Well. This is the place. Hopefully. I'm at the edge of the famous Bruce Wayne's house, and the craziest thing is that I'm expecting to see the Batcave nearby. I don't know if Bruce Wayne is Batman, but I've checked every house in Gotham. Plus, I know that Batman must be pretty rich to afford all those fancy gadgets he has. So, put two and two together and you get the richest man in all of Gotham.

I've been after him for a while. Batman, that is, not Bruce Wayne. Ever since that wonderful time we had on the roof of Wayne Enterprises, he's been avoiding me like I'm some sort of disease. Ever since, I've been constantly trying to get to him.

Like that time when he was on monitor duty. There were two people needed for the job and he volunteered. Later, when I found out about it, I eagerly took the other position available. As soon as I entered the room, he took one look at me, muttered something about an emergency in Gotham, and left quicker than Flash on caffeine.

And just this morning, we happened to cross paths in the hallway of the Watchtower. As soon as I opened my mouth to speak, he took off. That had made me so mad that I was ready to give that man what he deserved. I had stomped around for a while but after a few hours I got over it. It even inspired me to chase him down and find out what this is all about.

At the moment I'm creeping down to the back of the house, where maybe my searches will bear fruit. I peek from behind the side of the house. Wow. It really is amazing what ol' Bruce Wayne keeps back here. Nothing but a waterfall and a little river. Really an amazing thing. Well, I guess it couldn't hurt anything by seeing what's down there around the waterfall. I stroll down the side of the ledge and examine it. Absolutely nothing to see here but another hill, a dirt path leading from it, and just a different view of that same old waterfall. Wait a second! It looks like there's nothing behind that waterfall. Yep, that's going to need some more thorough checking. I step on the rocks and try to see through. I'm not getting anywhere with this method. I guess I'm going to have to get wet. I hate getting wet unless it's in a warm bath or shower. It's now or never. I hold my breath and run through with my hands out, half expecting a rock wall to stop me. Surprisingly, I make it through and because I was expecting a wall, my momentum leaves me wound up on the ground. I wipe my eyes and wring out my air as I take in my surroundings. Nice. Looks like I found the Batcave. I walk a little further in, exploring these new surroundings. Soon I'm able to see a light and a platform with the Batmobile on it. The closer I get to this the more my eyes adjust. I can make out a huge computer and a black jet shaped sort of like a bat. There are costumes that belonged to Batgirl and Robin in the past too. All these things are so amazing! I wonder where the owner of this stuff is. I make my way to the Batmobile and look around.

Suddenly, to my surprise I hear a grunt coming from underneath it. I get down on my hands and knees to see who or what was the origin of the noise. I feel my heart skip a beat as I spy Batman or Bruce with no shirt on and his perfectly chiseled chest exposed to the world. I might start drooling any second now but something stops me. Maybe it's the fact that he is staring at me now or maybe that slightly angry look he has on his face. Scratch that, it's a really angry look. He immediately rolls out from under the car and stands up. Yep. Drool's so coming back. All he's wearing are a pair of jeans and some work boots. I have got to be staring by now. He must notice but he doesn't seem to care at the moment.

"How did you get here?" he asks me angrily. I shrug and respond.

"I checked every house in Gotham and came to yours finally. Then I went to the back and went through the waterfall. And that's the end of my grand exploit!" I exclaim sarcastically, my eyes still glued to that fine specimen of an upper body. Dang. No can possibly be that muscular! It's purely impossible.

I look up at his face after a second and see that Bruce is in deep thought.

"Why did you come here?" he asks moving closer to me. Good Lord, if he comes any closer I'm going to lose it. I gulp and I really hope my voice won't come out in a stutter.

"I-I needed to talk to you." He frowns.

"What do you need to talk to me about?" Well. I consider this question and then I remember my whole purpose for being here. Anger rises up in me. Darn his stupid, dumb, beautiful torso. It distracted me from my ultimate motive. I narrow my eyes and knit my brows.

"We need to talk about the fact that you avoid me as if I'm the plague, you haven't spoken to me or even glanced my way ever since that day, and that I feel like you were trying to take advantage of me! Must you always be so cold, hard, and unfeeling? Must you never love anybody? Or is it that you just take advantage of girls like me? Ones that want to love you and fill your heart with joy and all you can do is hurt them? Or is it that you hate me? I'm beginning to think-" I'm cut off quickly from my rant by lips against mine, one hand in my hair, and the other hand on my waist. My arms instinctively wrap around his neck. We continue this for what feels like only a few seconds when he pulls away. I still have my arms around his neck and he's brought two hands to my waist. I notice that he's getting ready to say something to me.

"I don't hate you, Dinah. Don't ever say or think that. I could never hate you. You're so wonderful and pure that I really don't want to bring you into my world of darkness and shadows," Bruce says as he lets go of me. I reluctantly unwrap my arms from him and instead rest them on that oh-so-beautiful chest.

"What do you think? That I'm some sort of angel? No, Bruce, I'm not perfect and I'm not the innocent little girl you think I am." I pause for a moment. Then a thought pops into mind and I smile. "You know, I could show you," I say as I lean closer to his handsome face. I immediately see a bit of fear in his eyes.

"Dinah, I really don't need a demonstration of how bad you really are. What I really need is for you to listen to what I am saying to you." I stop to listen. "Dinah, I've been avoiding you because…" Bruce mumbles something really quietly and I strain my ears, attempting to listen.

"Can you repeat that, please?" I ask.

"I'm afraid," he mumbles a little louder. My eyes widen in shock. He's afraid. He's afraid! The Batman is afraid!

"What in the world for?"

"I'm afraid that my enemies could take you from me."

"What about all of your other reasons?"

"They aren't really as important as that one," Bruce says quietly. A pit of deep sadness quickly forms in the bottom of my stomach. You see, I know about his parents and how they died. I've read about young Bruce Wayne's history. How they were gunned down in front of him when he was just eight. It had to be traumatizing. I gently place one of my hands on the side of his face.

"I understand. But we'll never know if we don't take a chance," I say. He places his hand over mine.

"I can't lose you, Dinah. I don't know what I'd do if I did."

"Bruce, you won't lose me. I can kick butt as good as you. I'll be just fine," I reassure him.

"But what if I did lose you? Do you have any idea how hard it was for me when my parents died? When Jason died? It was a miracle that Barbara lived after that happened. I just can't lose you, too." I look at him.

"Take a chance, Bruce. If you don't, you'll live the rest of your life as a lonely man with absolutely no one to love. If or whenever you change your mind, I might not be there. I'll leave you to think about that. Just remember that I won't wait forever, Bruce." I start to walk away but suddenly a hand grips my wrist and spins me around. He has a hard look on his face, as if he has made up his mind about something. I allow a triumphant grin to appear on my face. "I knew you'd change your mind, but I didn't know it'd be this fast." He reluctantly smiles back at me.

"Your speech had quicker effects than I thought." His small smile turns into a large grin. "So, would you like to meet the Bat family? They're upstairs eating now."

"Wouldn't I be intruding upon your family time?" I ask. He raises one eyebrow and has an I-think-you-know-the-answer-to-that look. "Okay, let's go." He slips on his shirt then takes me over to the elevator. As we begin our journey up, I think, " _Man, am I glad that I took the time to find the Batman_."


End file.
